How Walmart wins with high-income shoppers

Today’s Walmart is a far cry from what it was Customers have witnessed it historicallyaccording to Walmart’s CFO, John David Rennie. It’s not an accident either.

Rennie, who joined the company in 2022 after holding significant roles at PayPal and United Airlines, told FOX Business that the nation’s largest retailer is working to “elevate” its brand and enhance the look of stores, key factors behind its appeal to appeal to higher-end consumers. Income shoppers.

“The Walmart of today is very different than the Walmart of several years ago,” Rennie said, adding that it is making changes that “appeal to a much broader demographic than we have historically.”

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Over the past few years, Walmart has consistently reported an increase in the number of high-income households. In its most recent fiscal quarter, the company announced that it continued to “gain market share in the U.S., both in grocery and general merchandise,” with households earning more than $100,000 accounting for 75% of its stock gains.

The company stated that Third quarter revenue It rose more than 5% from the previous quarter to $169.6 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $167.72 billion. Adjusted earnings per share also beat Wall Street estimates by 5 cents. The company’s success has impressed Wall Street, with shares of the company up more than 60% year to date.

Rennie credits part of the company’s success in attracting a broader range of shoppers, including more affluent customers, to expanding its product assortment, particularly in its e-commerce business. Adding high-end items, such as Apple products or Bose headphones, which are “sought after by more affluent customers,” are some examples of this strategy, he noted.

Rennie acknowledged that the company is unable to carry all the brands that “will attract a broad consumer representation in our stores.” This is where he said they are leading their online market. The company stated that it has more than 700 million items Through its market.

But even with this expansion of its traditional assortment, Rennie reiterated that the company “is not alienating our more traditional customer groups.”

One of its main focuses was to expand its assortment, bringing in more brands that appealed to “everyone.” But as the company added more products, including high-end items, other suppliers took notice and wanted to get on board.

“If you’re a supplier or a seller, you really want to sell your product where the people are, where the eyeballs are coming from. That’s really helping us right now,” he said.

Aside from improving its assortment, Rennie said the company has stepped up investment in its store experience.

The company has built new, modern stores and remodeled hundreds of others.

Over the past three years, it has remodeled about 700 stores each year on average. Over the next fiscal year, Rennie said they will be redesigning a bit more.

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“When you walk into one of these redesigned stores, it’s a completely different experience than what you thought of historically,” Rennie said.

Newly built and remodeled shops It flaunts the company’s new store concept with improved layouts, greater product selection and new technology that will help partners support customers. The stores have updated signage, paint, shopping carts and a new checkout design.

There are also interactive displays in certain areas of the stores and bulk merchandise on display, so customers can get a better look at the products.

In the United States, the company operates just over 4,600 stores and employs about 1.6 million employees. This does not include the 599 Sam’s Club membership warehouses that also operate in the United States